Rally – VW Ready for Mexico Altitude

The World Rally Championship visits Mexico this weekend with many teams taking part in recce today. Mexico proves a tricky challenge not only for the drivers, but the engineers as well. For those who are new to the WRC, Rally Mexico pushes the teams to altitudes they do not experience anywhere else on the schedule. This has a major impact on the engine and how it performs. The official WRC page put up a great story here that detail how Volkswagen prepared for the tricky altitude conditions. “On the one…

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WRC – Latvala and Solberg Head Portugal Leaderboard for Ford

Ford World Rally Team lies first and second after today’s opening leg of Rally de Portugal. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila lead this fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship in a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car by 2.6sec from the similar car of team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson. The team won three of the four speed tests which made up the short opening day’s action in this four-day event. Solberg, who was fastest in qualifying yesterday, was quickest over the opening two special stages, while Latvala…

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Exclusive – WRC with Colin Clark!

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSit back and help celebrate the start of 2012 and the new rally season as I sit down with Colin Clark from World Rally Radio. We talk briefly about 2011, take a look at all the news over the off season, and look ahead to what promises to be an amazing year in 2012! Colin brings his unrivaled passion for rally to the paddock and we appreciate his time in sitting down with us!

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WRC – Junior Squads Get a Face Lift

For the first time in a couple seasons, 2012 will see proper “junior” squads making a return in the World Rally Championship. These teams are often manufacturer efforts put forth to develop the future stars of the WRC. Jari-Matti Latvala and Sebastien Ogier are a couple of the most recent graduates from Ford and Citroen respectfully. These teams are rarely given the chance to compete for victories, but will see some of the best and brightest pushing the car to the absolute limit. The goal is to leave that lasting…

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WRC – Double Podium in Spain Sends Ford’s Title Fight to Final Round

Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen’s quest for a maiden FIA World Rally Championship title will go to a final round shootout after Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team claimed a double podium in Rally de España today. They finished second in a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car with team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in third, ensuring the drivers’ crown will be decided in Britain next month. The 31-year-old Finn’s title challenge was boosted when Latvala sacrificed second position shortly before the finish to ensure his team-mate maximised his…

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WRC – Update After Day 1 for Rally Spain

Just a brief recap here of the events of day 1 for Rally Spain. Keep it to OpenPaddock as the teams post indepth reviews of their first day for the penultimate round of the championship. Conditions were the name of the game for the gravel stages today. Loeb would start first on the road and usually that is an issue, but conditions actually favored the French ace as dust would cause the cars running behind massive problems. The gravel stages were very dry and there was not much of a…

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